The prior art presents cables and chains and the like. They are used by passing them through a captured opening in the object to be protected and wrapping them around an anchoring bar. The ends are then locked together by means of a padlock linking eyelets at the ends, or by means of joining a male half of a lock affixed to one end and a female half of the lock affixed to the other end. These prior art devices cannot be used unless there exists in the protected object a confined opening through which they can pass. Skis and ski poles typically have no such openings.
There exist devices to lock skis and poles to a fixed anchor but they are bulky and not safely transportable by a person while skiing. This particularly becomes a problem when there exists multiple ski lodges distant from each that a skier wishes to visit. For example, there may be a ski lodge at the base of a mountain and one at the top of a mountain. If a skier rides a ski lift and carries a prior art locking device to the top of the mountain to secure his or her skis while visiting the upper lodge, the rigidity and bulkiness of the prior art devices make it unsafe for the skier carry the device downhill while skiing. Thus at the base of the mountain the skier has no means to secure the skis.
Two very significant advantages of this invention over the prior art are that this invention can protect objects from thieves even though the objects, such as skis, do not have confined openings, and further, that this invention can be safely and attractively transported by a person even while skiing. It is worn about the waist as a colorful decorative belt, but when removed it can function as a relatively unbreakable locking device.
Other advantages and attributes will be readily discernible upon a reading of the text hereinafter.